The task of moving to a new home is pretty tough even for couples who are not raising children on their own. And for single parents, moving house is quite a serious challenge to overcome.
Most single parents lead extremely busy lives and moving to a new place will put extra stress on the family, at least 9 times out of 10. However, if those single moms and single dads know what to look for when a move is just around the corner, then the entire home moving process can become much simpler and easier for everyone.
And if you yourself are a single parent faced with a move, then the following moving guide for single parents will give you the top 10 tips on how to move a house as a single parent.
1. Plan the move well in advance
As a single parent, you just have to plan things ahead. Give yourself as much time as possible to get things ready for the upcoming relocation. The house moving process is rather unpredictable so it’s best to have more time than you think you need in order to respond quickly and adequately to any emergency situations.
There will be tons of things that you as a single mom or a single dad will have to tackle before moving out, most often by yourself. For example, moving to a new school district and finding a new school for your kids is a serious challenge that will require plenty of your time and energy to sort it out.
Important: How far in advance should you plan a move?
2. Organize your time
When moving away as a single parent, the lack of sufficient time to do everything you need to do before Moving day will be your archenemy. No matter how much time you actually have until the move out date, you’ll need to find a good way to organize that time efficiently in order to improve your chances of a successful move.
Use a detailed moving checklist you trust to guide you through the chaotic times that a house move often brings about. For best results, start working on your checklist as soon as you can and prioritize the tasks inside it so that you’ll know you’ve tackled the most essential jobs in case you run out of time.
3. Tell your kids about the move
Single parenting is as tough as it comes even without having a house move on the agenda. As soon as you learn that you’re moving, it’s your duty to inform your children about the upcoming relocation. Don’t postpone that talk – it’s much better to summon the courage and do it ASAP than to let your kids learn the news from somebody else.
You’ll need to find the best way to tell them that you’re all moving as a family. Depending on your kids’ exact age, they may end up being upset, worried, or plain scared. So, it’s your priority task to sit down with them and talk about the upcoming changes openly and honestly.
Do your best to present the move to your children as a positive and optimistic thing.
Good to know: How to tell children you’re moving house
4. Keep your children involved in the process
One of the best moving tips for single parents is to welcome any kind of help that comes their way. If your kids are old enough, there’s no reason why you shouldn’t ask them to give you a hand with some tasks that correspond to their skills sets.
In fact, it’s a win-win situation for everyone – you get those extra pairs of helping hands that you need while your children get to do something useful that will keep them involved in the moving process.
Have your loved ones sort out and pack their things, prepare essentials boxes for themselves, label or decorate the moving boxes, and even clean up their rooms prior to the move.
See also: 5 Ways children can help during a move
5. Find a new school for your children
Moving out as a single parent with school-age children creates another difficulty along the way – you’ll need to find a good school for your little ones and register them at the new educational institution.
Finding a good school is never easy – look for trustworthy recommendations from reliable sources, then research those schools online at the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) and GreatSchools.org. Whenever possible, you and your kids should visit several recommended schools in person to get a taste of the environment there and determine whether a school will be the right one for your kids.
Don’t forget to acquire the necessary documents (copies of transcripts, report cards, completed exams, recommendation letters, and awards and achievements) from their current school in order to arrange their transfer to the new school.
Read also: How to find the best school for your child when moving
6. Do your best to reduce moving costs
Moving to a new state as a single parent will often mean moving on a tight budget. A house move can be a great financial burden for a single mom or a single dad, so you should use every presented opportunity to cut your moving costs.
Here are a few cost-saving tips that will help you keep your costs and expenses to a minimum:
- SCHEDULE your move for the cold months of the year, if possible, when moving companies rates will be much lower due to the off-season in the moving industry. Summer, of course, is the costliest time of the year to move house;
- GET your hands on free cardboard boxes to lower the packing costs;
- SORT out all your items and take only the things you will need and use in the future. Moving fewer items should reduce significantly the final moving bill;
- FIND a low-cost moving company that still offers good moving services. Yes, affordable movers still exist, you just need to track them down.
Must-read: How to reduce moving costs
7. Reach out to your friends for help
Moving house with one single source of income may often feel like an impossible mission but it all comes down to how you manage your budget and what cost-saving techniques and strategies you use to bring down the moving costs.
Hiring professional packers to help you protect your belongings can be rather expensive so you’d better reach out to your circle of friends and invite to a packing party the ones you know you can count on during tough moments.
If applicable, you should ask your kids to pack their own items but that won’t be enough for the rest of the things inside your home. Be smart and get any move-related help you can get – especially when packing for a move. Ask family members or trustworthy relatives to look after your children while you get heavily involved in the packing marathon.
Important info: How to get friends to help you move
8. Keep your children safe on Moving day
More often than not, you’ll be too busy with planning and organizing the move, not to speak with packing up your things for moving, to keep a constant eye on your kids. And to be able to pull off a move as a single parent, you’ll have to know that your precious ones are doing alright so that you can concentrate on the tasks at hand.
You must keep small children away from the dangers of Moving day – preferably in a room away from the exit routes leading to the moving vehicle outside. Ask a person you do trust – ideally a member of your extended family – to stay with your children while the Moving day chaos unfolds.
Remember that the safety of your kids is your number one priority as a single mom or a single dad.
Easier said than done: How to make Moving day less stressful
9. Stay positive, or at least try
One of the hardest things to do when moving out as a single parent is to stay positive from start to finish. Moving from one home to another often proves to be challenging – an overwhelming task that will test your stamina and resolve.
If you can somehow manage to keep your overall attitude positive, your kids will most likely follow suit and the whole house move will go more smoothly from a physiological point of view. As the role model of the family, this upcoming move is your great chance to teach your children how to deal with major changes in life and how to handle above-average levels of stress.
See also: How to deal with moving house emotions
10. Leave your move into good hands
Sometimes moving out as a single parent proves to be a Herculean task and there’s just no way you can handle the extra stress of organizing a house move on your own. In such cases, there’s only one reasonable solution – to hire full-service movers who will take care of all the move details for you.
To choose professionals with excellent reputation, many years of experience, and affordable moving services, get free quotes and compare the relocation offers to pick the one that best meets your requirements and fits your single-parent budget.
After all, single parenting just happens to be a full-time job, right?
